“The Giant known as Capitalism”

Capitalism has afforded big business to profit at the expense of those less fortunate and at the expense of the environment. We need to ask ourselves how do we, as a society and yes individuals, make a difference. Neo-Marxists argue that we need to replace capitalism with a social order based on an economy devoted to meet real human needs and restore the environment to a sustainable and healthy condition, not one based on maximizing private profit and accumulating more capital. In theory this sounds great, but in reality a far stretch. Capitalism is the heart of our country. It affords us all the wants and needs as consumers that we desire and feel that we need. The chances of a moral revolution seem slim. Socialism seems unattainable.

The treadmill of production on which we are all placed has become the main enemy of the environment (Global Ecology and the Common Good-45). According to Forest we need to resist the treadmill of production and instead stress a moral revolution. Aah-resist temptation? But I really wanted the new I phone when it comes out; even though my blackberry is perfectly fine- planned obsolescence at it’s finest. We are all guilty of wanting more and more, but most are oblivious to the plight of our planet and our indirect affect on its survival. By feeding into consumerism, we are enabling the capitalist society that we live in, to thrive.

Capitalism is one of the driving forces, a major one that continues to add to the depletion of what limited